Wisconsin startup accelerator gener8tor again ranked as one of the top tech accelerator programs in the U.S.
For the third year, gener8tor received a “Gold” ranking from the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project, putting it among the top 16 accelerators in the country and in the same tier as large accelerators like MassChallenge and 500 Startups. The accelerator has programs in Milwaukee and Madison, as well as in Minneapolis.
The Seed Accelerator Rankings Project (SARP) is meant to guide and inform entrepreneurs who are considering using an accelerator, and to encourage accelerators to be transparent about important factors that early-stage startups may consider. The Seed Accelerator Rankings considered more than 160 programs for its rankings.
“For an entrepreneur considering an accelerator program, finding data regarding the performance of programs is difficult,” the SARP website reads. “Our rankings are meant to provide guidance for entrepreneurs who are considering going through an accelerator, and who are wondering how they differ on performance across various categories.”
The SARP defined an “accelerator” as a “fixed term, cohort-based program.” Each year, gener8tor accepts three rounds of five startups into its accelerator program, where entrepreneurs receive funding, support and a network of mentors, corporate connections and venture capitalists.
While other accelerators like Y-Combinator have cohorts of over 100 companies, gener8tor co-founder Troy Vosseller believes his accelerator’s “concierge approach” of working with just five startups at a time has helped gener8tor keep its high ranking.
“For us, I think it’s a testament to the founders and the entrepreneurs we’re fortunate to work with,” Vosseller said of the “Gold” ranking.
When Vosseller and co-founder Joe Kirgues started gener8tor in 2012, they knew they needed to design a different kind of accelerator to survive in the Midwest.
The result: gener8tor ranked 14th on the 2015 SARP report, and “Gold” on the 2016 and 2017 reports.
“Our ability to maintain that ranking gives us a chip on our shoulder,” Vosseller said. “I think it motivates us to say that we can do this type of nationally ranked activity in the middle of the country.”
Growth, Vosseller said, is an important part of gener8tor’s narrative. The accelerator launched its first Minneapolis cohort in 2017. This summer, gener8tor began Backline, an accelerator for musicians and bands, and Fellowship.art, an accelerator for artists.
“We are a startup ourselves, we need to be growing,” Vosseller said. Earlier this year, gener8tor acquired Cincinnati-based accelerator The Brandery, which ranked “Silver” on the 2018 Seed Accelerator Rankings.
The Seed Accelerator Rankings were compiled by Susan Cohen, management professor at the University of Georgia, Daniel Fehder, Assistant Professor at the USC Marshall School of Business and Yael Hochberg, Ralph S. O’Connor Professor of Entrepreneurship at Rice University.
The Seed Accelerator Rankings Project determined rankings through both hard data and survey responses from founders who graduated from the accelerator programs. The SARP evaluated accelerators on a number of metrics, including the valuation of startups in the accelerators, fundraising, startup satisfaction and successful IPOs or acquisitions.
